Criminal Competency Evaluations—State of the Art

Criminal Competency Evaluations have had an interesting history. From British Common Law, we share a tradition in which “idiots” and those with emotional defects, who are unable to assist their attorneys in their own defense, cannot be tried for a crime. In our adversarial legal system, it is considered unfair to try someone who can’t meaningfully grasp the charges against them, nor meaningfully participate in his or her own defense. The principles supporting competency are the fairness of the proceedings and the subsequent integrity of the judicial system if it does not appear to be fair.